WaPo Fact-Checker: Trump Op-Ed Has a Falsehood in Nearly Every Sentence

Source: DAILYBEAST

3 hours ago

REUTERS / Leah Millis

The Washington Post’s fact-check team reported Wednesday that almost every sentence in Trump’s opinion article for USA Today contains a misleading statement or a falsehood. The op-ed, which states “Democrats ‘Medicare for All’ plan will demolish promises to seniors,” contains previously debunked claims, the publication states. “Presumably the president is aware of our fact checks—he even links to one—but chose to ignore the facts in service of a campaign-style op-ed,” the article states. The Post article dissects the president’s piece line-by-line, correcting his claims along the way. Trump did get one thing right. According to the newspaper, Trump correctly stated that Medicare “studies have estimated that the program—under the version promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—would add $36 trillion in costs to the federal government over 10 years.”

Nearly every line of President Trump's USA Today op-ed contained a false or misleading statement. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

By Glenn Kessler

October 10 at 11:21 AM

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Many of these are claims we have already debunked. Presumably, the president is aware of our fact checks — he even links to two — but chose to ignore the facts in service of a campaign-style op-ed. Medicare-for-All is a complex subject, and serious questions could be raised about the cost and how a transition from today’s health-care system would be financed. Trump correctly notes that studies have estimated that the program — under the version promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — would add $36 trillion in costs to the federal government over 10 years.
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“As a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.”

Trump made this promise, but broke it. He supported Republican plans that would have weakened protections for individuals with preexisting conditions. His administration also has refused to defend the Affordable Care Act against a lawsuit that would undermine those protections. In effect, the Trump administration no longer supports a provision of the ACA, a.k.a. Obamacare, that makes it possible for people to buy insurance if they have preexisting health conditions. (We labeled this as a flip-flop.)
As for premiums, they have continued to increase on average, just at a lower rate than in the past. But experts say that without Trump’s moves to weaken the Affordable Care Act, premiums would be even lower in many states..............................